The Archive

England peaked in 1966, not four years later, as is often believed, says David Montrose

It’s the view put forward in the official history of the England team. It’s what Geoff Hurst thinks. Sir Alf himself supposedly believed it, though I’ve never discovered when and where he said so. And, of course, it’s been the opinion of assorted scribblers. Joe Lovejoy of the Sunday Times, for one, whose contribution to the pre-millennial surfeit of list-making was his assessment of the Greatest Football Teams. Occupying the top five slots, a genuine celebrity parade: Brazil 1970; Real Madrid 1960; Ajax 1972; Brazil 1958; Hungary 1953. Then, England 1970 – outranking the boys of ’66 as well as every team produced by Germany, the Netherlands, Argentina, Italy and France. Praise indeed for a side that lost two out of four.

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Sam Hammam's players have ruffled a few feathers, but their team spirit and his shrewd management have kept Wimbledon above water longer than anyone expected

It is rare for all the newspapers, tabloid and broadsheet alike, to run the same picture on their sports pages. But it happened at the end of February when they all featured an image of a middle-aged businessman sitting in a puddle. Wimbledon’s former owner Sam Hammam had just sold his remaining 20 per cent stake to the Norwegian millionaires who took control of the club last year. The players marked the event by soaking him at the training ground. As has often been the case with Wimbledon, it was probably fun for those directly involved.

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A new type of football violence is emerging in the Italian capital, says Roberto Gotta

Italy has again been surprised by an outbreak of football violence, and moved swiftly, though as usual too late, to correct it. It wasn’t the usual city centre skirmishes but a different kind of violence: political slogans written on large banners and racist chants, a disease which had been spreading for a long time without anyone noticing.

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Russia hope to host the 2008 European Championship, but their infrastructure is at home in a previous age, says Kevin O'Flynn

First they let Lennart Johansson set up shop in the Kremlin. A few days later Sepp Blatter was discussing tactics with acting president Vladimir Putin over a football match.

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Only five years after Montserrat was devastated by a volcano, the Caribbean island is set to contest its first World Cup qualifier. David Austrin reports

The tiny Caribbean island of Montserrat is better known for its volatile volcano than its football, but that could be about to change. On Sunday March 5 Montserrat will make World Cup history when they play the Dominican Republic in their first ever World Cup game. The qualifying match in the Dominican Re­public’s Estadio San Cristobal probably won't go down in the annals of the game as one to remember, but it will be re­markable nevertheless.

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